


Musain High School Host Club

by AmandaMelody



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Artist Grantaire, Awkward Romance, Comedy, Cute, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Host Clubs, Hurt/Comfort, Living Together, Love, M/M, Romantic Comedy, Sleepovers, Teen Romance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-10 04:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2010237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaMelody/pseuds/AmandaMelody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>***THIS FANFICTION IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION. I will be re-writing and revising each chapter and I will update from there. Old versions of chapters will still be available until then.***</p><p>Eponine Thenardier was a girl. However, the members of the ABC Host Club weren't aware of that at first. Now Eponine has a debt to pay, and can only work it off as a host in their club!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Eponine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of background on our heroine.

Eponine Thenardier was a girl.

But she dressed like a boy, because she wanted to.

Eponine Thenardier was an ordinary girl in an extraordinary school.

This school's name was Musain Academy, and it was a prestigious private school located in Paris, France. Those who attended the academy were primarily from prominent families, or were celebrities, and were in the higher class of society. The students were very accustomed to wealth. The Academy itself was gloriously furnished, and was built like a shining palace with polished marble floors, and soaring ceilings with crystal chandeliers hanging like stars, grand staircases and dining rooms and flowering gardens and glistening fountains. The Academy seemed to be principally focused on being aesthetically pleasing.

Musain Academy, of course, put those with stellar family backgrounds as the first priority for enrollment, regardless of academic skills. There definitely still was a chance of a lower-class citizen to be enrolled, however it was a very slim opportunity. A full scholarship would be offered to one French student per high school grade level every year, who has met the accepted score on a notoriously challenging entrance exam. These students were expected to be Top of the Class each trimester to remain at Musain.

Eponine was not at all in the higher class, nor was she from a prominent family, nor was she a celebrity. She was just one of those extremely intellectually advanced French students. She had done all of the enrollment applications and paperwork herself, because she insisted that she was mature enough, and also was awfully ashamed of her parents and didn't wish for them to come along.

Her parents, Madame and Monsieur Thenardier, used to care for her very much. In fact, Eponine and her younger sister Azelma were spoiled rotten by their mother when they were children. Their family was not rich, but Eponine and Azelma always had the finest dolls, the prettiest dresses, and everything else they could have wanted at the time. Now that the economy had become unstable, Eponine and her family had been afflicted by poverty. Less and less customers came to their restaurant, in which her father had named the Waterloo Restaurant, and her parents were constantly distressed by money. Meals became more and more infrequent, and soon her father reunited with his gang, the Patron-Minette, and they began committing small crimes like mugging scroungers or casual onlookers in the streets. Eponine's father would send her and Azelma begging for money around town, every now and then.

Eponine's mother seemingly had stopped spoiling her and Azelma as they got older. Instead she had become the roughened, harsh, punishing mother Eponine always feared to have. Madame Thenardier would often be found scolding 'Ponine and 'Zelma about anything that anyone could possibly be scolded about. The girls were hit, bruised, punished, and howled at. Azlema always remained quiet about the matter, but Eponine felt defiant and stubborn about it, and would every so often dress like a boy, much to the Madame's frustration. "Every so often" turned into often, and "often" soon became every day. She was almost unrecognizable as the pretty and proper girl she was at her youth.

The  _new_  Eponine was a skinny fifteen-year-old girl that never smiled. She was a girl with a snarky attitude and quick wit that had no friends and was pitied by everyone. She was a girl that tucked her long hair into a cap and wore boy's clothes.

She dressed like a boy because she wanted to be  _free_.

Eponine was always frequent in her studies, despite the troubling situations that she found herself in. Her parents were never very smart, but she was.

And here she found herself in the elite Musain Academy.

 


	2. The Music Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eponine Thenardier was a girl. However, the members of the ABC Host Club weren't aware of that at first. Now Eponine has a debt to pay, and can only work it off as a host in their club!

Commonly, the library is known as a subtle, yet peaceful atmosphere in which anyone may go to in the need of research, factual information, study, investigation, documentation, or even something as simple as individual tranquility. Eponine always respected libraries for what they were, and remained courteously silent just like any polite person would do.

However, the Musain Academy library was not a library. It seemed as if it were simply an archive of books where the students grouped together to socialize. It was a hall of sheer distraction.

"Just great." Eponine said to herself, rolling her eyes. "Where in this building could I possibly find a quiet room?"

She wandered the corridors and rooms of the vast high school building, searching for a place where she could study.

"There are four libraries in the high school building," She thought. "I'd imagine that at least one of them would be quiet."

She soon enough found an empty corridor, and there beheld a set of tall doors beneath a small sign.

"Music Room #3," Eponine read aloud. "It seems quiet enough to me…"

If Eponine could only speak with her future self at that very moment, it would be exclaiming _"Do not go through those doors!"_

As unfortunate as it may be, Eponine could not talk to her future self. So Eponine opened the doors to Music Room #3, and there in front of her very eyes sat seven teenaged boys, approximately her age, all gathered around each other in seats.

Eponine had an interval of time to evaluate everything that her eyes were able to observe and identify before she was noticed by them.

During that period, she saw that the room was quite large; filled with very appealing sets of chairs and tables that had pretty colors. There were flower vases placed everywhere, which made Eponine think that the room's floral decorations were too overdone. The fragrance of flowers made her nose twitch.

At the back of the room was a white curtain, and behind it might have been a storage area of some sort. Along the wall to her left was a row of dressing rooms.

The first of the men that she noticed was very handsome, with golden hair pulled back into a short ponytail. His twinkling blue eyes were brimmed with fiery passion, and he was in the middle of possibly giving a lecture or speech. He stood atop of a chair, his fists pumped into the air with enthusiasm, motivating and inspiring those that sat around him.

The second boy she saw was sitting nearest to the first boy, and he had glasses. He was also pretty darn attractive. He seemed to be enthralled by the man's avid monologue, and was taking notes or something in a small notepad in his lap.

The third boy that caught Eponine's eye had dark brown hair. He sat directly in front of the blonde boy, listening intently to his rhetoric and excitedly clapping his hands together, laughing. He looked very smiley and cheerful, and his eyes smiled along with him.

Another one of the men had first appeared to be a girl to Eponine, but was indeed a boy. This boy had long, light brown hair that was done in a side-braid. His eyes were closed, and his hands were tenderly playing with the flowers intertwined in his hair. He was pretty, just like a girl, with long lashes and rosy cheeks.

There were two other boys sitting beside him, who had their arms around each other and seemed as if they had been wonderful friends for a while. One had brown hair, joyful eyes and a wobbly smile, and the other had dark skin and was bald. The leaves of a four-leaf clover peered out of his right pocket. Both men were nice looking.

The seventh man she saw looked tough, and had a large, bulky body. His hair was disheveled but he seemed good looking in a way. His eyes looked ablaze with eagerness. He would raise his fists in the air in excitement along with the rest.

Eponine almost didn't notice that there was as well, an eighth boy sitting at the very back corner of the room. The first thing she observed was that he was not wearing a school uniform, like herself. He wore a dark green hoodie, and his hood was on at the moment despite the fact he was indoors and that there was no need for head covering at that time. His dark hair was shaggy and somewhat long, he had a stubbly chin, and he would be very handsome if he didn't look so sick. His glance was held on the glowing man standing on the chair.

All these boys were clearly in the middle of something, and Eponine was just about to turn her back and find another place to do her studying before a booming voice interrupted her:

"Hey, you there!"

She turned around stiffly, and swallowed the lump in her throat.

The first boy had his eyes on Eponine, and the rest of the boys turned their heads to look at her as well.

Eponine's long and wavy dark brown hair was bundled up and hidden under her plain brown cap. Only a fragment of her long hair had slipped from inside the cap, and she had tucked it behind her ear. Eponine was wearing an oversized brown coat (it was her father's) over a white collared shirt. She wore pants. Because of the style in which she had dressed, she appeared to be a boy.

"Oh, it's a boy." Said the man in glasses.

"A boy you say?" Said the golden-haired man.

The rest of the men looked as if they had lost interest when they heard "it was a boy," and turned back toward the first man once again.

"Welcome to the ABC Host Club, young boy!" Exclaimed the first man once again.

Eponine was startled, and took a step back.

"Um, I believe there has been a misunderstanding… I was just looking for a quiet place to study, and I'm not a-" Eponine mumbled. She was yet to utter the word "boy" before she was interrupted once again.

"Wait, I know who he is!" Said the bald boy. "He's in the same class as Joly and I!"

"He isn't wearing the school uniform. Why is that?" Said the long-haired flowery boy.

"That's probably because he can't afford it, Jehan." Said the tough-looking man, his head thrown back in laughter.

"Bahorel! One should never ridicule those who have been stricken with poverty! It is inevitable to those who are in the lower classes." Said the blonde boy, which earned him a scornful glare from Eponine.

"I feel much pity for those who are poor," The long-haired boy continued.

"Ah, lower class citizens have my pity on them as well." Said the boy with glasses.

Eponine had never been talked to or pitied in a way such as this, and she hated it already.

"Could you all shut up?! Your rude comments about my social class are really infuriating me! What a bothersome group you are!" Eponine shouted, stomping her foot angrily.

The empowering and heavy clomp had vibrated across the polished marble floor, and ever so slightly shook a stone display pedestal directly to Eponine's left.

She had not noticed it a single bit when she entered the room.

The tiniest wobble of the display pedestal caused the shiny turquoise vase on top of it to tilt to the left, then to the right, then finally fall and shatter into pieces on the floor.

It took a moment for Eponine to take it all in, and once the lightning bolt of realization struck her she clasped her hands over her mouth and screamed.

* * *

 "Look what you did…" The boy with the crooked smile said, worriedly.

"We were going to auction off that vase starting with 71,000 francs!" Bossuet cried.

Eponine's jaw dropped in disbelief. She felt her stomach twist, her heart drop, and her brain burst instantaneously. "You must be kidding! Seventy-one thousand francs?"

The boy with the glasses shook his head. "You are going to have to pay for that vase, young man." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"There's absolutely no way I can pay that! My family is struggling with money! At this point we'll need to live in the streets! There must be some other way!" Eponine pleaded. She thought of all the horrible, awful things her mother and father would say and do to her once she told them about her debt. "They will kick me out of the house for sure!" She thought. "I'll perish in the streets!"

Her thought was interrupted.

"Well, you can always work your debt off." The bespectacled boy implied, calmly. Eponine felt serene relief inside of her at these words.

"You can join our group as a host!" The flowery boy shouted delightfully.

"A …host?" Eponine mumbled.

"You must attend every meeting." Said the golden-haired boy, sternly.

"Meetings?" Eponine whispered. "I don't know if I can be a host…"

Combeferre had a cruel smirk on his face. "Would you rather pay the 71,000 franc debt? Or perhaps would you like to be reported to the Academy Administrators and Supervisors? Surely they may go as far as take away your scholarship…"

Eponine gulped. "Host it is." She frowned. "But-"

The man with the glasses interfered. "You must have a total of 100 customers request you as a host. Then, we will forget all about your 71,000 franc debt." He looked Eponine directly in the eye. "Is that a deal?"

He held out his hand. Eponine took his hand and shook it.

Eponine made a mental note not to tell her parents about any of this.

"Let me introduce you to everybody in our club." The bespectacled boy said. "My name is Combeferre. I manage the monetary earnings of the ABC Host Club and also sell its merchandise."

Eponine nodded.

Combeferre gestured toward the handsome blonde boy. "This here is our leader, Enjolras. He will tell you about our beliefs and our motive later." Enjolras smiled, shook her hand, and politely greeted her.

It consoled Eponine to know that these male students were taking part in their host club for a valid reason, and not just for plain amusement.

"This is-" Combeferre gestured to the third smiley boy, but he interrupted.

"Hello there! My name is Courfeyrac. How do you do? I am third-in-command of the ABC Host Club, and quite a womanizer I am, indeed. That, in which makes this a perfect way to spend my free time here at Musain Academy! I am quite the expert with ladies, if I do say so myself." Courfeyrac winked, and Enjolras flicked his forehead.

One by one, each of the schoolboys were introduced to Eponine. The boy with the long braid and flowers in his hair was named Jehan. The two boys with their arms around each other were, indeed, close friends. The bald one was named Bossuet and apparently he was the unluckiest man in France. The other was named Joly. Before Joly and Eponine shook hands he squirted a dollop of anti-bacterial hand sanitizer onto her palm and made sure she rubbed it thoroughly between her fingers.

"He's a bit of a hypochondriac," Bossuet had mentioned.

The strong-looking boy with the bulky body was named Bahorel, and he was a boxer. He gave Eponine a playful punch on the shoulder, as a way of showing endearment.

"What is your name?" Jehan asked Eponine softly and sweetly.

"You may call me 'Ponine." Eponine replied.

At this point it had completely slipped her mind that the boys, in fact, believed she too was a boy. They were all oblivious to her being a female.

Eponine glanced at the boy with the green hoodie at the back of the room. He was asleep at a table.

"Who is that boy back there, Enjolras?" She asked. Enjolras scowled.

"Oh, that cynic back there? That would be Grantaire." He said scornfully. "He takes good care not to believe in anything. He comes to meetings to make sarcastic comments about our cause."

"And the reason why we didn't kick him out in the first place was because he entertained us with his humor!" Courfeyrac mentioned with a smile. "Grantaire is a really cool guy once you get to know him."

"I see." Eponine said. "Do you ever pay attention to him, Enjolras? He seemed...very fascinated by your speech earlier."

"I do not usually give him the time of day." He replied. "But let's not talk about this now."

"Bahorel," Enjolras called out. "Please fetch a school uniform for this young lad. He must look more appropriate, if he is going to be a host."

Bahorel departed with haste to fetch one.

"Now," Enjolras proclaimed. "Let us all gather around once again, for we will now elucidate to 'Ponine what our main purpose for the ABC Host Club is."

To Enjolras's command, all of the boys arranged their chairs around Enjolras and sat. Eponine sat beside Jehan, who held her hand and smiled warmly.

"We members of the ABC Host Club," Enjolras began, "believe in the fact that both men and women shall be treated equally and fairly and should never need to be fraught by stereotypes and labels. Lately in society, women have been treated as a lesser being than a man. Women are underestimated and are ill-treated with sexist comments, and we wish to end that. We are a group of passionate feminists, 'Ponine."

Eponine nodded.

"Because of this," Courfeyrac added. "We members of the Musain ABC Host Club want to entertain ladies by making them feel special and loved, no matter who they are!" He smiled. "We shower them with compliments, sweet-talk them, and praise them in every way we can."

Eponine frowned a little. "But Courfeyrac, is it all genuine?"

"Genuine?" The hosts said all together.

"You know," Eponine continued, "is everything you feel about and say to these girls real and honest? In my opinion, it's simply cruel to treat them like princesses and flatter them if you truly don't mean what you say."

The boys exchanged a few glances with each other, until Enjolras leaned in close to Eponine.

"Do not tell any of this to the mademoiselles," He said quietly. "But the main reason we do this host club is to get as many ladies as possible to take part in our _revolution._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 71,000 francs is the rounded equivalent to 8,000,000 yen.


	3. He is a Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all a big mess.

_Revolution._

Enjolras had said that last word as if it were tremendously significant. His blue eyes looked straight at Eponine, blazing with passion and desire, his voice as steady and strong as it possibly could have sounded. All of his confidence and anticipation expressed into that one word, revolution.

"What revolution?" Eponine asked.

"At Musain Academy's Fair at the end of the year," Joly explained, "the ABC Host Club plans to take action on our cause."

"We will take action on our campaign by giving an inspiring speech about how women are pushed below men in other countries in the world." Bossuet continued.

"Have you heard of women's rights in Afghanistan? Men make all of women's choices for them. Husbands can get a divorce without their wife's approval! Isn't that just awful?" Jehan said with a sigh. "Oh, women there can rarely even get an education! Only 15% of the female population there can read and write…" He bowed his head with sorrow.

"That's not all," Courfeyrac said. "There are other countries where women are mistreated!"

"Indeed," replied Combeferre. "That is why we are trying to have as many people as we can to join our action, so that we can succeed in assembling an Organization for Women's Rights here at Musain Academy. That is when Courfeyrac had the idea of creating the ABC Host Club to make women happy."

Eponine nodded. "So that you can encourage them to join your campaign…" she said.

"That's right." Combeferre stated. "All of us here aren't exactly interested in women. Well, with the exception of Courfeyrac."

"I see," Eponine replied. "I understand what you guys are trying to do now. It just that… Enjolras kind of confused me with his use of the word 'revolution'…"

"Yeah, Enjolras!" Courfeyrac joked. "Stop using the word 'revolution' at unnecessary times!"

"Actually, I'm kind of relieved that you guys aren't planning to start a riot or anything." Eponine said.

"May I also add," Enjolras declared, "that in order for your debt to be completely paid, you must also take part in our campaign at the Musain Fair."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Eponine shrugged.

At that moment, Bahorel rushed back into the room with a small boys' school uniform draped on his arm. "Hey, here is 'Ponine's uniform!" he exclaimed, seemingly out of breath.

"Thank you, Bahorel. Come 'Ponine, let's get you dressed." Enjolras said, taking the uniform from Bahorel and giving it to the two boys beside him. "Bossuet, Joly, please help 'Ponine get dressed."

"Yes sir!" Bossuet and Joly exclaimed as they snatched Eponine by her arms and ran to the dressing stations they had in the room.

Once they were inside, they both began tugging at Eponine's clothes.

"W-wait, guys!" Eponine shouted.

"Come on, 'Ponine! You must get undressed…" Bossuet said.

"…So that you can put on your new uniform!" Joly continued.

We must once again highlight the fact that these men in the host club were still yet to realize that Eponine was a girl.

"Alright, I will undress, but you two need to get out! I need privacy!" Eponine yelled, as she pushed the two boys out of the dressing room, with them landing flat on their bottoms.

That was when their suspicions began.

* * *

"Bossuet, Joly, I thought I had told you two to help 'Ponine get dressed." Enjolras scolded, after seeing the two of them standing outside of the dressing room.

"He kicked us out and said that he needed his solitude." they both said.

"Well, everyone has their personal needs." Enjolras implied.

"I don't know, Enjolras. He seems a little strange." Joly said worriedly.

"Ah, the boy must be shy!" Bahorel laughed.

Courfeyrac grinned devilishly. "Why don't we give him a little surprise?" He crept over to the curtain of the dressing room, with Bossuet, Joly, Jehan, and Bahorel following.

Enjolras and Combeferre sat somewhere else in the room, not wanting to participate in their silly prank.

"Alright everyone, when I open the curtain, everyone yells 'boo!'" Courfeyrac said, giggling silently. The others couldn't help but chuckle along. Courfeyrac grabbed the curtain and threw it open.

 _"BOO!"_ the boys shouted playfully, and they laughed and smiled. But that laughing and smiling only lasted a moment. It had seemed that they were the ones that ended up surprised.

* * *

 There stood Eponine, her long wavy hair hung over her shoulders, right in the middle of removing her shirt. There was a short moment of silence.

"We are terribly sorry for intruding." Courfeyrac said blankly.

Each of the young boys' faces were flooded with red, and right after Courfeyrac had closed the curtain once again Eponine began shouting and screaming and cursing at all of them.

"What sort of senseless human being would barge into a dressing room?! Is this some sort of joke? I was undressing! Do you have no manners? Were you raised in a jungle? How stupid and unbelievably rude could you boys be?!"

Eponine had never felt so many emotions at once, humiliation infused with anger and exasperation, and she felt so much heat flooding everywhere inside of her, and she wanted to explode.

"What's going on here?" Combeferre and Enjolras asked, walking over to the guys. Courfeyrac, still stunned and red with blush, pointed at the dressing room curtain.

At that instant, Eponine had thrown open the curtain to continue shouting at the men who had interrupted her, but instead ran into Enjolras. She still was only in her undergarments, (she had forgotten to dress up again because she was fuming with anger and embarrassment) and her hair was still down. Enjolras began blushing furiously at the girl in front of him. Combeferre also felt heat rush onto his cheeks.

Eponine shrieked yet again.

* * *

 Nobody spoke a single word as Eponine changed into the boys' uniform inside the dressing room. After a minute or two, she stepped out, fully dressed, and with her hair tucked back into her hat.

"So, 'Ponine…you're a…girl?" Enjolras asked quietly.

"Biologically speaking, of course I'm a girl, you idiot." she snapped. Enjolras glared at her in return.

"We weren't aware of that." said Combeferre.

"I didn't know that you weren't aware." Eponine hid her face with her hands in frustration. "How could you not realize that I was a girl?"

"You sound like a boy." Bahorel said.

"I have been told I have a deep voice." she replied.

"You have a boyish appearance." Joly said.

"Any girl can, with the right clothes." she replied.

"Why do you dress like a boy, 'Ponine?" Jehan asked, with concern.

Eponine didn't say anything for a moment, until she replied with "I never really expected to be perceived as male, I just… I only happen to dress like one…"

She was quiet for another minute. "I am free to do whatever I want. Dressing like a boy makes me feel like I am independent, and that nobody can tell me who I am supposed to be. Besides, gender doesn't really matter at all, does it? It's about who you are on the inside."

Jehan smiled. "That's very poetic, 'Ponine."

"My full name is Eponine Thenardier." Said Eponine.

"You do make a very beautiful girl," said Courfeyrac. The boys all looked daggers at him, and he whispered his apologies.

"I would thank you for that," Eponine replied, "but you yourself have said that you are 'quite the expert with ladies' so I won't believe it."

The guys laughed.

"Can I still be a host? Even though I'm a… girl?" Eponine asked.

"I don't see why not." Enjolras said.

"We do want equality for men and women, do we not?" Combeferre added.

"Besides, you seem pretty cool, Eponine!" Courfeyrac said, patting the top of her head.

"Thanks guys." Eponine smiled a little bit, and it was the first smile she had shown that day.

"I think I'd better go home now," She said quietly. "I would like to resume my studies."

The boys nodded, and they said their goodbyes. Almost immediately afterward, Eponine walked out the tall doors of Music Room #3. She was not very well known as friendly, due to the fact that she had barely any friends, so she had hardly bid her new acquaintances farewell.

She returned to her run-down house and to her parents, who scolded her and beat her with a dusty broom for coming home late. Afterwards, she resumed her studies like she said she would. In her thoughts, she dreaded the day that tomorrow's sunrise would bring. She was definitely an amateur at entertaining women, and most definitely at being a host.

"It's a much better option than to pay 71,000 francs," Eponine insisted.

* * *

 After Eponine had left the ABC Host Club room, a thought-to-be-asleep Grantaire approached the group of boys and said, with his voice coarse and roughened by brandy,

"I bet everything's gonna be different now, huh?"


	4. Patria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eponine meets Enjolras's favorite guest, Patria. They do not get along very well.

Eponine walked into Music Room #3 the next afternoon to see that the entire room was redecorated to resemble nineteenth century France.

There were antiquated-looking buildings and shops on every wall, the marble floor had become stone pavement, the ceiling was painted like it were the sky, and in the center of the room was a mountainous barricade of wooden chairs, shelves, desks, cabinets, and doors. Tables were set around the room and female guests sat, being entertained by the hosts. The room looked as if it were three times larger than it was the first time Eponine entered, and she was stricken with a wave of surprise once she saw everything.

"Eponine, there you are."

Eponine turned around and saw Combeferre, dressed in a strange-looking outfit. "Oh, hey Combeferre," She said, looking around the room once again. "What's with the extravagant setup?"

"Oh, these decorations are based off of nineteenth century France. Enjolras selected this theme for today." He replied, emphasizing Enjolras's name. "Our costumes were also selected by Enjolras, which were supposedly based on the fashion of French citizens one-hundred eighty years ago."

"You don't appear to be very comfortable." said Eponine.

"None of us are." said Combeferre. "Would you like to join in on our cosplay?"

"No, I'm fine with my uniform and my hat." She replied.

"I should remind you," Combeferre added, "that you will need to involve yourself in our cosplay in the future. I'll let you off the hook, since it's your first day."

After a short moment of silence, Eponine asked a question.

"Combeferre, how does this 'hosting' thing work anyway? I honestly don't get it; do you just sit there and compliment your customer on how pretty they are?"

Combeferre pushed his glasses higher up his nose bridge. "Well, in the ABC Host Club, each host has an exclusively unique personality." He said, and pointed toward Enjolras. "Enjolras over there is the princely type."

Eponine couldn't help but laugh.

"Courfeyrac is the naughty, flirty type. Jehan is the romantic, poetic type. Joly and Bossuet are the mischievous type, and Bahorel is the strong, tough type." Combeferre continued. "The host types are made to fit the needs of our guests."

"What about you, Combeferre? What is your host type?" Eponine asked.

"I'm the calm, intelligent type." He said. "I am rarely with guests, because I devote most of my time here to keep the boys organized, and make sure events go as planned."

"Okay," Eponine said. "But, what do hosts do?"

"You can observe for yourself." And with that, Combeferre walked back over to his desk where he continued to manage the club's funds and finances on the computer and did paperwork and other official procedures.

"Okay then," Eponine said to herself, and began to observe her fellow hosts at work.

She first examined Enjolras. She spied him at the top of the wooden barricade, with his fists raised in the air, giving a lecture of some sort, as girls surrounded him and swooned. Every so often he would take one of their hands and kiss it, and whilst the girls giggled and blushed he would turn around momentarily and wipe his mouth on his red jacket. This made Eponine laugh. He also would say stupid things such as  _"you fill my heart with desire almost as much as France does"_  or  _"your shimmering eyes are as beautiful as the bravery of the martyrs who battled in the June Rebellion of 1832 in their valiant efforts to overthrow the monarchy"_  and whatnot.

Then, Eponine studied Courfeyrac. He seemed to be very expressive and sentimental with the ladies, and would often invade their personal space (which apparently made the girls wild over him). She heard him tell several dirty jokes, some of which were terribly clichéd. He would seductively whisper in their ears, and pin them down against the couch and smirk as the girls squealed "Me next!" while hopping up and down excitedly.

As Eponine perceived, Jehan seemingly charmed the ladies with sweet gestures. He would endearingly give his guests roses, gently play with their hair, recite lovely poems, and give them soothing flute performances. The ladies would be smitten by Jehan's charm and grace.

Bahorel would charm his guests with his brute force. He'd tell intense stories about encounters with gangs, boxing tournaments, etc. etc. He appeared to be outright talkative. But the girls would swoon over him, and feel his muscles, and giggle and blush. Every now and then he'd say something sappy like  _"I will always protect you, my beautiful damsel in distress"_  causing the women to feel giddy with delight.

Joly and Bossuet had quite an odd, yet interesting act. Eponine watched with curiosity as Bossuet and Joly would demonstrate excessive brotherly love towards each other, holding each other tightly as tears bubbled in their eyes, creating a sparkly homoerotic aura which made the girls go hysterical as they squealed  _"What a tender embrace!"_

Her thoughts were disrupted when an inebriated Grantaire tapped her on the shoulder.

"Young girl," he said groggily. "If I were you, I would escape before it's too late." Grantaire took another gulp of his wine.

"Grantaire, you're drunk." Eponine said, irritated.

"Wine makes me forget about all of my sorrows and distresses," He replied.

She snatched the bottle and downed the rest of the wine.

After she finished, she looked back at Grantaire. "Aren't you a bit too young to be consuming alcohol?" Eponine asked.

"I am eighteen," He replied. "Aren't  _you_  a bit too young to be consuming alcohol?"

Eponine shrugged. "My father's an abusive drunkard. I'd have thought of drinking at least once. Like you said, it makes me forget about my sorrows and distresses."

Grantaire smirked. "Ah."

"Hey, Grantaire…" Eponine remarked. "Are you one of the selected honor students that passed the entrance exam? I couldn't help but notice that you aren't wearing a school uniform." Eponine's glance paused on Grantaire. He still wore his dark green hoodie, along with some faded jeans and worn out red sneakers.

"No, I'm not." Grantaire replied. "I'm not very intelligent; I am nothing like you. I have actually had to repeat my senior year twice. I come from a wealthy family, you see."

"Oh." Eponine said.

Just then, Enjolras approached the two of them.

"Oh, Eponine, you're here." he said.

"Enjolras…" Grantaire said softly. Enjolras didn't look at him.

"Eponine, you must get to your guests right away. The ladies are looking forward to meeting the new host we told them about." Enjolras said sternly.

"Alright already, I'm on it." Eponine snapped.

* * *

Three smiling girls sat gathered around Eponine at a small rounded table to the left of the wooden barricade.

"So, Eponine," Said one of the ladies. "What product do you use on your skin? It's very pretty."

"Your eyes are so beautiful, almost like a girl!" said another.

"Tell us about yourself," said the third.

Courfeyrac, Bahorel, Jehan, Joly, Bossuet, Grantaire and Enjolras happened to be eavesdropping on their "little newbie" whilst she was hosting, just to see how she would do.

Eponine, for the moment, was entirely speechless. But her taciturnity had ceased when she once again thought of the 71,000 franc debt she had to pay off.

"All I need is to get 100 customers to request my service, and they'll forget all about my debt." She thought. "I know what to do."

"Well, you see," Eponine began, "I don't come from a wealthy family at all. The truth is, my family is somewhat struggling with money due to the current bad economy. My household isn't perfect; my father reunified his gang, and my mother doesn't pay attention to me and my little sister anymore. But I always try to be there for her… I make sure to believe there is still something good to hope for. Even though our lives aren't perfect, my sister and I managed to make it through okay." Eponine finished off with a gentle smile, and the ladies became teary-eyed.

"Um, is it okay," said one of the girls.

"… If we request to sit with you again tomorrow?" the second girl continued.

"Yes, that would be great, mademoiselles!" Eponine smiled.

All that she said was true; however she cleverly expressed and worded the story to make it superfluously heartbreaking. It was a beneficial technique she used when going door to door asking neighbors for alms.

In the meantime, the boys had been in astonishment as to how Eponine was able to charm the ladies so easily, and still as a beginner.

"She's a natural," Enjolras said.

"Our little rookie is all grown up!" Courfeyrac gushed, wiping at his tears.

"It looks like Enjolras is going to have some competition for highest request rate," Combeferre teased, as he scrawled something onto a clipboard. Enjolras frowned.

"That surely won't happen, Combeferre." Enjolras implied, assertively.

Enjolras was unaware that he had forgotten about his guest who waited for him.

This particular mademoiselle was one of Enjolras's regular guests. She had beautiful long, blonde hair, sapphire blue eyes, rosy lips, and fair skin. She usually wore earrings with the French flag pattern, emblematically showing her love and adoration for her country. Her name was Patria, and she was Enjolras's favorite customer.

"Enjolras, have you forgotten about me?" Patria sighed.

"Oh," Enjolras said, turning around. "Forgive me, my lady. As you could see, I was just observing how our new host was doing. Let me introduce you to… him." He said, hesitating a bit on that last word.

"Eponine, come over here." He called out to Eponine. "I would like you to meet one of my guests." She approached the two of them.

"This is Patria," Enjolras explained. "She is one of my daily customers."

Patria greeted Eponine with a phony smile. Eponine forced a smile in return.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle. You are very beautiful." Eponine said, tenderly taking Patria's hand.

Grantaire, Joly, Bossuet, Jehan, Courfeyrac, and Bahorel all squealed. Even Enjolras seemed somewhat pleased.

"Eponine, that was adorable!" Courfeyrac pounced onto her and smothered her with hugs to the point of her near suffocation.

"Courfeyrac… I can't… breathe…" Eponine managed to whisper between chokes.

"That impression of bashfulness was perfect, Eponine!" Jehan said, as he joined in on aggressively cuddling her.

"Oh, you're so cute!" Joly and Bossuet exclaimed, giggling.

"I must admit, that was impressive, Eponine." said Enjolras.

Combeferre nodded in agreement.

As all the hosts gathered around Eponine, praising and fawning over her, Patria shot them a piercing glare.

* * *

"Where is my schoolbag?" Eponine said to herself.

The Host Club had just closed up, and all the ladies were now absent from the room.

Eponine ran out into the hallway and looked out the window. In the Main Garden in front of the campus entrance, she saw that her bag was floating in the middle of the pond.

"What? How did that happen?" She whispered.

Eponine ran as fast as she could down the North Hallway and toward the Garden, but was stopped when she ran into someone in the corridor.

It was Patria.

"Oh, it's you, Eponine." Patria said, apathetically. Eponine said nothing.

They stood there for a minute, drinking in all of the uncomfortable silence, until Patria continued.

"I bet that you love getting all of the hosts' attention." She said, twirling her golden hair in her fingers. "But no matter how much they dote over you, it's all useless. You will always remain a lower class citizen."

It took every bit of Eponine's self-discipline to restrain herself from getting Patria into a headlock and punching her pretty face. Eponine controlled her internal rage, and without saying anything, she continued making her way toward the Main Garden.

Eponine had a feeling that Patria threw her bag into the pond. But she knew that it didn't matter anyway, because she had to focus on getting her schoolbag back.

 _"All of my classwork and textbooks are in that bag,"_  Eponine thought worriedly, as she walked toward the pond once she reached the garden. After rolling up her pants, she waded through the pond and retrieved her bag, along with all of her soaked folders and textbooks.

"We can replace those," she heard a voice say behind her. When she turned around, she saw Enjolras standing at the side of the pond.

"Oh, thanks." Eponine said quietly. "I just can't seem to find my money for food…"

Just then, Enjolras rolled up his pant legs and sleeves and stepped into the water as well.

"Uh, you don't have to do that, Enjolras." Eponine said. Enjolras shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. A little bit of water never hurt anyone." he replied, smiling empathetically. "Also, we're friends."

Friends. Eponine smiled a little, too. But her smile ended quickly, and her face turned red.

"Stop being so nice to me, it's awkward and unnatural!" Eponine said, as she quickly looked away from Enjolras's confused expression.

Eponine was never familiarized to kindness. Being exposed to it made her… uncomfortable.

After a few hushed minutes of searching in the pond, Enjolras finally found Eponine's wallet and held it up.

"Is this what you're looking for, Eponine?" Enjolras said. Eponine nodded, and took the wallet.

"Thanks, Enjolras." she said, lightly blushing and avoiding eye contact.

"How did your bag end up in the pond, anyway?" Enjolras asked. Eponine shrugged.

"I guess I might have accidentally dropped it out the window," she fibbed. Telling Enjolras that Patria threw her bag into the pond would do nothing but make him think Eponine was a liar, so she just didn't say anything about it.

* * *

The next day at the Host Club, Patria requested to sit with Eponine.

"I see," she said, sipping from a cup of tea, "so your bag fell into the pond. That must've been terrible. I don't know what I would possibly do if that happened to me!"

Eponine's eye twitched a little bit.  _"Why did she request me when it's obvious that she doesn't like me at all?"_  she thought.

"Yet, you actually made Enjolras search in that disgusting pond with you. How outrageous," Patria continued. "You do know that Enjolras and all of the other hosts are not commoners, right? The only reason you are getting all the attention is because they are trying to turn you into a gentleman." Patria sneered roguishly. "Don't start thinking that they care about you, just because they're fawning over you."

At this point, Eponine couldn't contain her rage. She stood up abruptly, causing the table and the tea set to topple over onto the floor, and slapped Patria hard.

"I have a good idea," Eponine roared. "Why don't you just leave me alone and keep your feelings of jealousy to yourself? I couldn't care less that I am a lower class citizen. Now, if you would stop shoving the fact that I am poor in my face, I would be quite glad. Thank you for your kind consideration!"

Eponine was near to tackling Patria and getting into a fist fight with her, until she heard Enjolras's voice.

"Eponine." he said harshly. "Stop that."

Eponine turned around, shocked and afraid, and looked Enjolras in the eye. His expression was pure anger, and it seemed that his wrath was pointed directly towards Eponine. She felt her heart stop.

Eponine had only been looked at this way by her father, who would then beat her until she quivered and trembled underneath the table, weeping.

"Enjolras, I-" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Get out of here. Just  _get out of my sight, now!_ "

Enjolras's sudden outburst scared her more than it was supposed to. She felt so much fear from being looked at this way by Enjolras, someone who had called her a friend. Before she knew it, tears began to stream down her face and her heart trembled and began beating faster than it ever had before.

She was crying.

Crying wasn't normal for Eponine. She never was afraid of anything; she always had acted brave.  _"No, no, no!"_  She screamed at herself in her mind.  _"I can't cry. No way! Oh, why is this happening?! This isn't like me!"_  She put her hands over her face, but the burning tears kept coming down.

Jehan, Courfeyrac, and Joly (being the caring and tremendously affectionate people they were) almost immediately ran to her and began to console her. Eponine would have pushed them away, but she just couldn't. Not now.

"Eponine," Courfeyrac said, holding her thin, shaking body close to his.

"Don't worry 'Ponine, Enjolras just can't control his temper sometimes…" Joly whispered, petting her shoulder and giving her a handkerchief.

"Why did you do that to Patria, Eponine?" Jehan asked.

Grantaire sat noiselessly at the back of the room, miserably watching the scene. Bahorel, Bossuet, and Combeferre tried not to look. As for Enjolras, he ran to Patria and helped her up.

"Oh, Enjolras," Patria wailed. "Did you see that? Eponine just attacked me! That selfish, bratty boy assaulted me! How troublesome and ill-mannered he is… Why don't you teach that commoner a lesson?" She insisted. Enjolras shook his head.

"Eponine," he said. "Come over here."

Eponine, with her tears dried, approached Enjolras. Before Enjolras could say anything, she started defending herself.

"Enjolras, I know that you love Patria, but today was not entirely my fault." She began. "Patria was the one that threw my bag into the pond, and-"

"I know that." Enjolras interrupted. Patria's mouth dropped open.

"What? You don't know that. Do you have any proof that I did?" Patria protested.

Enjolras held her hand and stroked her chin. "Patria, you are a beautiful girl," he began, "but I'm afraid that you will no longer be permitted to be the ABC Host Club's guest."

He put an arm around Eponine's shoulders, and half-hugged her. "If I know one thing, Eponine is an honest, fair person.

Both Eponine and Patria were speechless. Tears welled up in Patria's eyes, and quickly ran out of the room crying "Enjolras, you idiot!"

All the hosts assembled around Eponine once again. Combeferre and Enjolras gave her devilish smirks, causing her to shudder.

"Now Eponine," Enjolras crossed his arms.

"You do know that we have to punish you for causing all this commotion, right?" Combeferre continued. "Also, you shattered one of our newest tea sets…"

"I know." Enjolras said, patting Eponine on top of her hat. "Your quota will increase to 1,000 guests!"

Eponine nearly collapsed. "One thousand?!"

"We have high expectations for you, 'Ponine!" Courfeyrac winked.

* * *

When Eponine got home, she flopped onto her bed wearily.

"What's wrong, 'Ponine?" her sister Azelma asked, putting a hand on Eponine's shoulder.

Eponine sighed, and sat up. "You know," she said. "Perhaps being a host and getting fussed over by a bunch of girls won't be so bad."

"What?" Azelma asked.

Eponine just laughed to herself. "I wonder how I could pull it off."


	5. Beware the Physical Exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ABC Host Club Members must protect Eponine from being discovered as a boy on the day of physical examinations.

It had been almost two weeks since Eponine first walked into Music Room #3 and joined the ABC Host Club. According to Combeferre, Eponine's request rate dropped nearly 40% due to the "incident" with Patria. She only had about fifty guests that requested her in the weeks that passed by, while the other hosts had hundreds.

"How do you guys do it?" Eponine complained during the meeting that day.

"Ep, it's all about being likeable," Bahorel smiled.

"I'm plenty likeable!" Eponine snapped, punching Bahorel's shoulder, eliciting a lighthearted laugh from everyone.

During the weeks that passed, Eponine had gotten used to being around the boys. She wore her hair down when she was with them, she made more jokes, and she didn't shout or get angry as much. Of course, she still would have the occasional outburst.

"Well 'Ponine, the problem isn't that you aren't likeable." Bossuet said. "Maybe you just need to… like people more?"

"It's so hard when I'm surrounded by idiots."

Enjolras crossed his arms. "Everyone stop tittering and chattering, and let us please return to the topic of the conference! We already had a meeting concerning Eponine's hosting last week." he grumbled. Everyone else groaned and returned to concentrating on his lecture.

"As I was saying," Enjolras continued. "Women all over the world are stereotyped to be sensitive, nurturing, weak, affectionate, forgiving, and home-oriented. Professional discrimination against women is also continued in their place of work. In 1883, factory women only earned one-fourth of the payment that men received! Oh, how much these women suffered throughout the past infuriates me!

However, that is not all! In America in 2007, women's paychecks were only 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Some protest that this income gap is only due to different career and work-hours choices, rather than sexism. However, another study in 2009 reflects that being an overweight woman lowered the chances of career advancement. According to the study's results, being overweight did not affect promotion opportunities for a man. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Combeferre nodded. Jehan was busy playing with Courfeyrac's hair. Bahorel was engaged in a conversation with Eponine. Joly and Bossuet were cuddling. A drunken Grantaire let out a loud whoop from the back of the room.

Enjolras sighed and shook his head. "Do you all not care about the beliefs and ideals of the Host Club?"

"Well," Bossuet began. "We all do value the Club's ideals, Enjolras…"

"It's just that we have other things to worry about." Jehan said, gently.

Enjolras's face scrunched up into a perturbed frown. "Like what?"

"Like how Eponine isn't getting any closer to paying off her debt," Joly implied.

"And the school's physical exams are tomorrow." Courfeyrac shrugged.

Enjolras rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Courf, why would anyone worry about physical-"

He couldn't finish his sentence when a thought came to his mind. Once Enjolras fell silent, the rest of the boys understood as well.

"What's the matter, guys?" Eponine asked. The boys slowly turned toward Eponine, and then it hit her.

"Physical exams?" She said slowly. "There's no doubt about it. They're going to find out… that I'm a girl."

* * *

By now, most of the boys were going berserk trying to figure out a way to keep Eponine's secret. Courfeyrac had dragged in a large chalkboard and began organizing a plan and connecting it to other ideas and drawing math equations, trying to find in a logic way to work out the problem. Enjolras, Jehan, Joly, Bossuet, and Bahorel joined in. None of them had the slightest idea of what they were doing.

"Guys, it really is fine." Eponine insisted. "I don't really care if I'm found out or not."

"No, it is  _not_  fine!" Courfeyrac cried.

Eponine, with a furrow of concentration between her brows, tapped her chin as she contemplated the situation. After a moment, a thought came to her mind.

"Oh, I see." She said, finally. "You guys are worried because if I'm found out as a girl, I can't be a host and therefore can't repay my 71,000 franc debt."

"Exactly," Combeferre said, writing something into a notepad.

Eponine shrugged. "I guess I can find out another way."

All the boys groaned.

"Our subject appears to have no motivation," Joly and Bossuet sighed.

"Are you saying that you couldn't care less about this club?" Enjolras asked, sadly.

"I'd have to say yes." Eponine replied rather quickly. Enjolras collapsed to the floor in agony.

"I mean, I don't hate you guys or anything. But if people find out that I'm a girl, there's nothing I can do about it, right?" Eponine continued, laughing nervously.

"She doesn't care at all." Bossuet said, worriedly.

"We need to find a way to persuade her…" Joly whispered.

Combeferre pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "Eponine," he began, "If you can't repay your debt as a host, would you rather pay it monetarily?"

Everyone smirked. Eponine gulped.

"I suppose that concealing my secret would be best," she mumbled.

"Don't you worry, 'Ponine." Enjolras said, with an intense look in his eyes. "We are determined to keep your secret."

* * *

The next morning, an announcement through the loudspeakers alerted the students of the commencement of the exams.

_"_ _We will begin conducting physical examinations shortly. All students please proceed to the clinic in your respective school building."_

Eponine walked to the high school building's clinic with Joly and Bossuet, who were in her class. "So, what do they do at physical exams here at Musain?" she asked.

Joly and Bossuet shrugged. "It's not really that different from a physical exam at any other school," Bossuet said.

"Yeah, why would it be different for us just because we're wealthy?" Joly said with a smile.

"I see," Eponine replied. She and the rest of the students approached the tall doors entering the clinic room, and when they were opened, she was more stunned than she thought she would be.

"Welcome, students!"

Two rows of smiling doctors were aligned on each side of a red carpet that ran down the center of the room. Changing rooms lined up against each wall. It was incredibly extravagant and elegant.

"W-what is all this?" Eponine asked.

"It's just another physical exam." Bossuet shrugged.

"The usual," Joly added.

"Monsieur Joly and Monsieur Bossuet, please follow me this way to measure your height." Said a cheerful female nurse, and she disappeared into another room to measure them.

Eponine knew for sure that this wasn't how physical examinations went at her old school. It seemed uncomfortable to her, because all of the doctors were overly giddy and merry, and seemed to only be trying to keep the students happy. Not like any doctor she's seen.

Just then, a female nurse with big eyes and whitened teeth popped out from behind her. "Hello Monsieur Eponine," she said excitedly. "I'm your nurse for your physical examinations today."

"Oh, hello." Eponine said politely.

"Please follow me this way to get your height measured," the nurse said, leading Eponine to another area. As Eponine followed, she noticed Courfeyrac and Jehan in a corner of the room, surrounded by some female guests she recognized from the Host Club.

"Courf and Jehan?" whispered one of the guests.

"Why are they dressed as doctors?" said another.

Eponine almost burst out laughing. Courfeyrac and Jehan were indeed, dressed as doctors, with glasses and white lab coats and fake mustaches.  _"It's so obvious…"_ She thought, shaking her head.

"I have those two for backup, just in case something happens." Combeferre said suddenly, startling Eponine a bit.

"Oh, hey 'Ferre, I didn't see you there." Eponine said. "Um, if Courf and Jehan are only backup, then why are they dressed in doctor disguises?" she asked.

"Courfeyrac thought it'd be more fun that way." Combeferre replied. "He wanted it to feel like a real reconnaissance mission."

Eponine shrugged, and continued following her nurse into one of the rooms. When she left, a peculiar-looking man with a plain workers cap stumbled into Combeferre.

"Oh, excuse me…" the man said. He pulled down his cap and looked away from Combeferre, and he walked off.

Combeferre didn't recognize the man as a student, nor a doctor. "Huh," he mumbled, with a furrow of contemplation between his brows. "That's strange."

* * *

"Monsieur Joly and Monsieur Bossuet, it is time for us to do your chest measurements. You may use the area behind this curtain to undress." Said Joly and Bossuet's nurse, gesturing toward a changing room.

"We don't need a curtain," Bossuet smirked.

"Yeah, we're not shy." Joly said. They both removed their shirts in front of the enormous crowd of lady guests from the host club. All the girls began to giggle and squeal.

"Oh, Joly…" Bossuet stroked Joly's chin gently. "I won't allow these doctors to touch you. It's not fair…"

Joly blushed. "Oh, Bossuet…"

"I want to keep you all to myself," Bossuet smirked, provoking several shrieks and squeals from the crowd of girls.

A befuddled Eponine stood in a corner of the room with Combeferre, Jehan, Courfeyrac, Bahorel, and Grantaire.

"Why are there so many girls here to watch the physical exams?" Eponine asked.

"Well, most of the students here are from prominent families, meaning that they already have private doctors at their homes." Combeferre responded. "So, physical examinations at Musain Academy are nothing more than a formality. We thought that the ladies might as well enjoy it."

"Yeah, physical exam day is quite popular with the girls," Bahorel laughed.

"I think it's… inappropriate." Eponine replied. "I mean, having girls watch a bunch of guys remove their shirts doesn't seem like a physical examination to me." She watched as Joly and Bossuet winked at the ladies as they had their chests measured, causing an eruption of giggles.

"The girl has a point," Grantaire slurred.

At that instant, Enjolras's head peered out from a dressing room curtain behind her.

" _Psst!_ " Enjolras whispered. "Eponine, in here!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the changing room with him.

"Enjolras, what's going on?" Eponine asked. Enjolras put a finger to her lips.

"Be quiet," he said. "Operation  _'Keep Eponine's Secret'_ is about to embark. I'll need you to stay put here. The inevitable moment has come." Enjolras placed a brown wig on his head, and hid his blonde hair beneath it.

Eponine's nurse called out from behind the curtain. "Monsieur Eponine, are you ready to be measured now?"

Even though the curtain separated her from the ladies, she could already feel the tension and anticipation that was building up. She heard only a few hushed murmurs from the crowd.

"When is Eponine going to come out?"

"I want to see him with his shirt off!"

"I need to get my camera!"

All the hosts, along with Grantaire, waited nervously outside the curtain as well.

Enjolras stepped out of the dressing room, shirtless, wearing Eponine's brown cap and the ridiculous wig and that was supposed to resemble Eponine's hair.

"I am Eponine Thenardier," he responded loudly.

After a moment of utter silence, the room burst into a fit of laughter. Enjolras's confident expression darkened. Inside the dressing room, the real Eponine Thenardier continuously pounded her head against the wall in humiliation.

"What's Enjolras doing in that wig?" One of the ladies giggled.

"Perhaps he is cosplaying as Eponine?"

"Is this a joke?"

Enjolras's face was flooded with red, and his eyes were soon aflame with anger. Joly and Bossuet stood in another corner of the room, cackling so much that their eyes filled with tears.

"I can't believe he actually did it!" Joly laughed.

"Joly, Bossuet…" Enjolras muttered, his voice slowly growing more furious. "You said that the ladies wouldn't be able to tell it was me!" He was shouting now, his face red with rage.

Joly and Bossuet were snickering. "There's no need to be so furious, Enjolras," Bossuet smiled. "It was just a meaningless prank!"

Enjolras peered into the dressing room where an enraged Eponine sat, facing the wall.

"Um," Enjolras mumbled. "I'm terribly sorry. They found out…"

Eponine turned around and shot Enjolras a piercing glare of irritation. He almost fainted.

* * *

Combeferre approached Eponine after the commotion had died down. "Eponine, I prepared a separate examination for you in the special boys' clinic." He pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "I brought in a doctor and told them about how you were posing as a boy due to certain circumstances, and they have sworn to secrecy."

Bahorel sighed. "It turns out that all of the doctors here today are all on staff at one of Combeferre's family's hospitals."

"It sure would've been nice to know that earlier, 'Ferre!" Enjolras and Courfeyrac exclaimed.

* * *

"Hello Mademoiselle Eponine," said Eponine's doctor once she had reached the special boys' clinic. "I have been made aware of your situation. Please disrobe for me in that area over there." She gestured toward a small dressing room in the corner.

"Sure," Eponine said, and walked into the changing room.

Meanwhile, back at the former clinic, one of the Host Club's guests had broken down into sobs.

"I swear," She cried, "one of the doctors grabbed me by the shoulder. He was trying to harass me!" A few female guests and doctors tried to comfort her.

"How terrible," one of them said sympathetically.

"Maybe it was a pervert," said another.

Combeferre furrowed his brows. "I had a feeling this might happen," he said.

Jehan glanced over at Combeferre concernedly. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Combeferre began. "Earlier today I saw a strange-looking man who clearly wasn't one of our doctors or students. He seemed a bit suspicious. I suppose that the security guard would have caught him by now."

The mademoiselle who was "harassed" by the strange man continued to wipe at her tears.

"Tell me," said one of the doctors. "Do you know where this pervert man was headed?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, monsieur, he went straight towards the special boys' clinic."

All of the ABC Host Club members nearly froze with shock.

Surely, if this said "pervert" was heading for the special boys' clinic room, he was bound to find…

"Eponine!" They all exclaimed at once.

* * *

In the intervening time at the special boys' clinic, Eponine was undressing behind the curtain when suddenly a man was inside the room with her. It was the previously mentioned pervert man.

This man, as Eponine noticed, wore a plain grey workers cap, and had short reddish hair. He was young, maybe about twenty years of age. He had an ordinary face, a little bit handsome. He looked very modest, and had brown eyes which were widened in panic.

Yet, no matter how innocent and frightened this man looked, he was nonetheless inside of Eponine's dressing room while she was half naked. So she opened her mouth to scream.

However, before any sound could escape from her mouth, the man clasped his hand over her lips.

"Hush! It's not what you think! Please just keep quiet…" The man said, tears in his eyes.

At that very moment, Enjolras burst into the dressing room, yelling something rather imperceptible, and pounced on top of the man.

"Do not harass Eponine, you pervert!" Enjolras yelled, snatching the man's cap and using it to cover his face. The man yelled something, but it was muffled by his hat. At the same time, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Jehan, Joly, Bossuet, and Bahorel ran inside.

"Enjolras, give him a break. Don't suffocate him." Combeferre shook his head. Enjolras rather reluctantly got off the man and brushed himself off.

The pervert man pulled the hat off of his face. "No, please don't hurt me! I spare you my life!"

Jehan grabbed the man by his shirt collar and lifted him off the ground. "Why are you here?" he probed. His usual light, gentle voice suddenly grew manly. The man trembled in fear.

"Please let me go!" the man cried, and Jehan released him, causing him to fall to the floor.

"I'm a workingman. I have a small fan shop that I run in the next town over. My name is Feuilly." said he.

"I am orphaned of both my father and mother; but I used to live with my younger cousin. She abandoned me to live with her other aunt, because I couldn't manage money well. I couldn't meet her needs because I only earn three francs a day making fans." Feuilly was close to crying by now.

"I know that she attended school here, so I went and tried to find her. I care for her as if she were my younger sister…" Feuilly continued. "When I got here, I asked a young mademoiselle if she knew where my cousin was, and all of a sudden she began to scream! And soon enough, many people began to chase me…" Feuilly was broken down into sobs by now. Courfeyrac, Jehan, Joly, and Bossuet had also began to tear up.

"That's so tragic!" Courfeyrac cried.

Combeferre broke the moment. "Monsieur, I believe that you might be at the wrong school. Perhaps you were mistaken with Muse Public High School?"

"Yes," Feuilly said. "Muse High School is the place I'm looking for."

"I thought so," Combeferre responded. "This is Musain Academy, an elite private school.  _Muse_ and  _Musain_ sound rather similar, I suppose."

Bahorel laughed. "Your daughter definitely doesn't go here. She would have no chance, living with a lower class, small time fan maker like you." Feuilly's expression darkened.

Enjolras helped Feuilly back onto his feet. "Combeferre," he said, "please find a map of all the public schools in the area. I must help this man find his cousin." He sounded as if he were incredibly determined.

Feuilly's face brightened. "Oh, thank you monsieur!"

Enjolras had a warm smile on his face.

Eponine scowled. "I'd hate to interrupt this sweet and heartbreaking moment, but will you all  _please get out?!_ I'm undressing here!"

"Oh 'Ponine, you're not angry are you? Please don't leave the Host Club!" Courfeyrac exclaimed.

"I'm not angry; I just want to finish my physical exam. And I'm not leaving. I have a debt to pay." she replied, drably.

"Oh, I'm so glad!"

"Whatever! Will you guys just get out of here?!"

* * *

The day ended rather roughly, however Enjolras (with the help of Combeferre and the rest of the hosts) was able to locate Feuilly's cousin. Tears were shed at their affectionate reunion.

That day, Eponine also found an understanding of a side of Enjolras she hasn't seen before. His usual strict, demanding, and enraged self somehow softened into someone more delicate and compassionate. This is what Eponine pondered as she lay in bed that night.

_"_ _Perhaps Enjolras has more to him than I thought,"_ she thought to herself.

And, the same way the sunshine rose from the hills at the dawn of day, Eponine found a glint of sunlight inside of Enjolras.


End file.
